JetBlue Says December Storm Cost $25M

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) - JetBlue ( JBLU) said December storms reduced operating income by $25 million.

The carrier said the storms caused revenue to fall by by about $30 million.

"JetBlue's operating performance was adversely impacted by snowstorms in the Northeast during the last week of December, resulting in the cancellation of approximately 1,400 flights over a five-day period," said CEO Dave Barger, in a prepared statement.

"Due to high load factors over the peak holiday travel period, we were unable to re-accommodate many customers on other flights and recapture revenue," Barger said.

JetBlue became the third carrier to report the cost of December weather events , following Delta ( DAL) and United ( UAL).

Delta lost $45 million and United lost $10 million. Including JetBlue, the combined reported loss is now about $80 million. US Airways ( LCC), which has a major presence in both the Northeast and Southeast -- both areas were impacted by storms -- has not yet released a figure. Its loss may have been mitigated because the carrier quickly resumed normal operations following the post-Christmas weather problems.

JetBlue said December traffic grew 3.7% on a 1.1% capacity increase, while load factor increased 2.1 points to 82.1%. On-time percentage dipped to 58.6% because of weather. Passenger revenue per available seat mile increased by 3%.